Friday 5/9/2008- Sunday 5/11/2008
After about an hour of delays, we boarded our JetLite flight to Mumbai. We were very pleasantly surprised with Jet Airways’ budget arm “JetLite,” as they offered everyone complimentary refreshments and snacks due to the flight delay. This was one of the first tips that the States could learn from India about their airlines….
We arrived in Mumbai to find the climate much cooler (probably more in the high 80s), as we negotiated a tuk-tuk to Powai Lake. We were somehow able to find a “Corporate Apartment” through “Mr. Raj” for around $36/per night. After much hunting, we found the New Lake Palace Apartment building. We spoke to Raj on the phone to find he ‘upgraded’ us, to an almost brand new room in the building.
After finding out that the room also came with our own ‘person’ who would show us around, take tuk-tuks with us to get us places, we were off to dinner. We grabbed money from trusty HSBC and due to our extreme hunger; we gave in to the restaurant next door: Papa John’s. Wow, it was simply delicious…minus the fact that our ‘dude’ simply walked around outside while we ate. We quickly ate and brought leftovers to him…which he was greatly appreciative.
The next morning we caught a tuk-tuk to Anderi Station to head south on the westline train into old Bombay. The trains were as if we walked through the doors of time into the 1950’s. They had old fans and no doors, as passengers just held on to glimpse the ‘fresh’ air coming into the cabins. After about a 40 minute ride, we arrived at Churchgate station and quickly found Mocha’s for brunch, recommended by our guidebook. We both had traditional Indian breakfasts and made our way down the west coast of Mumbai. The streets and people in Mumbai are very different from the rest of our visit in India. We found the city to be much more civilized, well-kept and metropolitan.
After visiting the famous India Gate, we walked around the bling bling Taj Hotel. We passed by many delicious restaurant options, and we decided to try Indigo’s Deli (less pricy option then Indigo Restaurant). It was very tasty, and we got to catch a glimpse of Mumbai’s middle/upper class.
Our last sightseeing stop was St Thomas’s Church of North India, a cool oasis in the middle of old Bombay. We made our way back towards Churchgate to catch the metro in Second Class. We realized that we accidently sat in First Class on the way into town… which was ten times the price (~$1.20), but we paid (~$0.20). The only difference we could find was padded seats.
Arriving to Andheri Station was straight chaos, as tuk-tuks refused to use their meters due to the stopped cars and heaps of traffic. We finally walked out of town and found a tuk-tuk driver to take us to Andheri West to meet Meetu, our friend AJ’s cousin. We weren’t able to communicate with her before hand, and it was just our luck that she had stopped into her store: GolMaal to see if we came by. Katie was in heaven to be back in a designer store, and we were very impressed to learn that Meetu had opened her own store only 18 months ago, selling her personally designed and hand-made clothing line.
After spending about an hour and a half in the shop, Katie walked out with a great dress and purse. Dermot was a fantastic trooper, as we shopped around the store and rubbed elbows with top bollywood stars. We grabbed a bite to eat and coffee with Meetu (thanks again!) after the shop closed around 10:30pm. We talked all about our travels around India as well as Europe and the States. We also learned the inside scoop on the Tuk-tuk meters…and that we’ve been getting ripped off (okay, its only pocket change worth…), as the ‘meter’ isn’t directly reporting in Rupees, they have to convert it…. Which all of our tuk-tuks have told us it was the direct price. Well, I guess knowing is half the battle!?
We were so glad that we got to meet and hangout with Meetu, as well as get the inside scoop on our favorite Indian city Bombay (Mumbai). We are looking forward to her clothing line being sold online!
The next morning came all too quick, as we grabbed a tuk-tuk for our short 15 minute ride to the International airport…we were off to Dubai!